Coming up short at their most recent competition, Cathedral Catholic High School’s sailing team did not qualify for the Mallory or Baker Championships later this month.

“We attended the Pacific Coast Championship, the qualifier for the Mallory Championship. We were close, close to the top five, but just barely did not qualify,” Carter Lynn ‘16 said.

CCHS ranked sixth in the 2015-2016 Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association standings, just one place away from the top five qualifying requirement.

The team will not travel to Washington May 27 for the Baker Championship, an event that focuses on team races, which the team has not practiced this year.

“We had a lot of new members who didn’t have much experience, but they developed into awesome sailors towards the end of the year,” Nick Aline ‘16 said.

The team lost many senior sailors last year, which will happen again soon. Alongside the Class of 2016 players, the team will lose Coach Brian Stanford, who announced his retirement two weeks ago. CCHS Athletic Director, Mr. David Smola, will begin the process of hiring a new coach.

Despite its season having been cut short, the team has a future at CCHS.

“We will pay for the team whether there are five, seven, or 22 students,” Mr. Smola said. “Sailing is not a traditional high school sport like football, and it’s an expensive one, but I haven’t heard that this has prevented students from joining, most of whom already sail on their own.”

The team will need six members to compete next season. Regardless of the future, the team will continue to be funded by CCHS. Sign-ups will begin at the beginning of next school year. Sailing is a no-cut sport, so everyone is welcome.

“We encourage anyone who wants to give sailing a try to go ahead,” Aline said.